Tax repayment deadlines shortened

The time limit for individuals to claim a repayment of overpaid tax  has been reduced  from six to four years. Thus if you are entitled to claim a repayment of  tax, you may have to make it earlier than anticipated.


Most self assessment taxpayers claim any repayment  they are entitled to in the year they make their tax return. However, if your circumstances change you may be entitled to claim back tax you paid in earlier years. This may apply  where:

• you incur losses that can be claimed against income in an earlier tax year;

• pension contributions were paid late;

• your employer used the wrong tax code;

• your savings/investment income has reduced since you last told HM Revenue & Customs about it;

• you retired, changed from full-time to part time work, became self-employed, or stopped working altogether and did not receive any taxable earnings or benefits for the rest of the tax year.
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The new deadlines are particularly pressing if you have a claim for the 2004-05 or 2005-06 tax years that you have not yet made. To meet the new deadline, you must submit your claim for the 2004-05 tax year by 31 March 2010 and for the 2005-06 tax year by 5 April 2010. HM Revenue & Customs have advised taxpayers to check their records carefully to ascertain if they are entitled to a repayment for these years.


If you are not a self assessment tax payer (i.e. you pay all your tax under PAYE and do not normally file a tax return) you can also claim back tax if you have overpaid due to a change in your circumstances.